ITheatre Collaborative

Our mission is to bring to the Phoenix community live theatrical plays for the general public that are: affordable, of the highest professional quality, and of a diverse and/or multicultural nature, and to provide classes, workshops and forums on theater and performance for the general public. Through these activities iTheatre Collaborative will promote the idea that for all our uniqueness and individuality, we are, first and foremost, human beings.

iTheatre is always striving to move its community forward artistically as a cultural resource and outlet for the community. Consistently, over the last 16 seasons, iTheatre has produced plays that dealt with issues that are not easy; race, gender, cultural identity, religion, sexual orientation, and poverty, to name a few. This approach is about creating a "community theater company". Not in the sense that we are an amateur theater, but one that is engaged and reflective of its community, doing professional quality work, and making a difference in people's lives. For iTheatre, it is about relationships with other organizations and leaders, with local artists, with audiences and other stakeholders, and the stories told on the stage.

iTheatre Collaborative was literally borne on a couple of napkins at the Ragin' Cajun restaurant on Cave Creek Road in late 2001. Much of what iTC is today can be found on those napkins from the company's name to the ideals expressed in its mission and vision statements. Founders, Christopher Haines and Rosemary Close, felt there was a need in the Valley to create a company that pushed the envelope and challenge local artists and audiences alike. Their belief was that live theater is an opportunity to affect, almost viscerally, both audience and artist.

The most common comment received regarding iTC's work from patrons is, "After the show, I don't want to leave. I want to talk about what I just saw." That is what iTheatre is about. A theater critic once described iTheatre like this, "You can't call iTheatre Collaborative an alternative company, but rather an eclectic collective." Time and again, iTC has produced work that is both challenging and thought provoking to audiences and to the local artists involved in each production.

iTheatre Collaborative (iTC) tells the stories of today, reflects the issues, conflicts, and events that are most current even when producing an eighty-year-old play or a world premiere. There are two aspects of iTC's mission statement. The first is to produce plays. However, beyond that is language that further describes the nature of those plays. "Affordable," "of the highest professional quality," and "of a diverse and/or multicultural nature"; are descriptors that impact planning and programming, and define mission fulfillment.

The second aspect is education. In 2009, iTheatre developed a workshop for at-risk youth called iPlay, conducting a series of workshops at a local homeless shelter (UMOM) for their teenaged residents. To date, iTC has given 7 workshops reaching 173 teenagers. In 2016, iTheatre began a project called "Finding the Circle" which seeks to expose the community to Indigenous American theater. iTC conducted readings at the Heard Museum of plays by or about Indigenous Americans. This program has challenged iTC Artistic staff in terms of research and evaluation, as well as patience and dedication in building trust with the local Indigenous community which is still a work in progress.

In 17 seasons, iTheatre has produced 51 regional premieres, a North American premiere, and 3 world premieres. iTC has, to date, produced 72 productions, given 560 performances, reached 32,105 patrons and utilized 195 different local Phoenix artists. In addition to our resident 'home' at the Herberger, iTheatre productions have been invited to perform across the Valley and across the country. Our work has been seen and acclaimed nationally at the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., at the Last Frontier Theater Conference in Valdez, AK, at the Black Arts Movement Festival in Austin, TX, locally, at Theater Works in Peoria, at Scottsdale Community College, and the West Campus of A.S.U.